The Centre and Delhi government on Tuesday announced that buildings in 1,511 unregularised colonies in Delhi will be given legal sanctity on an “as is, where is” basis without the need for approved layout plans, seeking to accelerate steps to give residents of such agglomerations ownership rights under a scheme announced in 2019.
Addressing a press conference, Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal said the move aims to encourage residents to come forward for property registration while enabling them to undertake construction or redevelopment in accordance with municipal norms.
Move to encourage residents for property registration
“Delhi has multiple authorities working simultaneously. We have taken another big step towards reducing the multiplicity of authorities in Delhi by handing over all unauthorised colonies from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to the Delhi government, which will regularise all of these,” Lal said.
According to the new rules, residents will no longer be required to submit a layout plan of the area to get their property registered. They can instead submit a building plan made by any architect empanelled by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
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The decision builds on the Pradhan Mantri-Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY) – launched in 2019 to confer ownership rights to residents of unauthorised colonies. Officials familiar with the development said that while the scheme enabled ownership through conveyance deeds and authorisation slips, the absence of approved layout plans had emerged as a key hurdle in allowing construction approvals and full regularisation.
It would benefit 4.5 million residents: Delhi CM
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta said the latest step would benefit around 4.5 million residents and covers 1,511 of the 1,731 identified unauthorised colonies that do not fall under the so-called “exclusion criteria”.
The exclusion list includes 90 unauthorised colonies in Yamuna floodplains (classified as “O-zone”), 61 in forest and Ridge areas, and 69 colonies classified as “affluent”. The exclusion also applies to 51 colonies that did not exist before 2019, officials said.
“Delhi’s population has almost doubled from 15 million to 30 million in the last two decades, with unauthorised colonies and slums also growing. Today’s development marks the first significant step towards structured and planned urban development with the aim of integrating these unauthorised colonies into Delhi’s urban fabric,” Gupta said.
Under the new framework, land use across all plots in these colonies will be treated as residential. Existing built-up structures will be regularised in their current form, and the lack of layout plans will no longer act as a barrier.
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Officials said that currently, conveyance deeds (CD) are issued for built-up properties on government land and authorisation slips (AS) for properties on private land. PM-UDAY is implemented through an online portal managed by DDA. Till March, approximately 40,000 conveyance deeds or authorisation slips have been issued.
D Thara, additional secretary in the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), said the relatively low response to the scheme was examined. “It has been observed that even after issuance of CD/AS, residents are unable to get building plans approved or regularise existing structures due to the absence of approved layout plans. These layout plans were to be prepared by RWAs and approved by MCD, which is now not needed.”
She said people can now apply on the SWAGAM or PM-UDAY portal, submit a map of the property made by one of the 700 empanelled MCD architects, and get authorisation within 45 days.
The application process will begin on April 24 through MCD’s SWAGAM portal for cases where ownership documents have already been issued. A defined timeline includes a GIS-based survey within seven days, rectification of deficiencies within 15 days, and issuance of documents within 45 days.
“Many legal hurdles will come up related to contradiction with previous norms, ownership disputes and master plan. Delhi is probably the only state that does not have a town and country planning department, due to the lack of which important aspects like infrastructure linkages cannot be done,” said AK Jain, former DDA commissioner.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta said the latest step would benefit around 4.5 million residents and covers 1,511 of the 1,731 identified unauthorised colonies that do not fall under the so-called “exclusion criteria”.
The exclusion list includes 90 unauthorised colonies in Yamuna floodplains (classified as “O-zone”), 61 in forest and Ridge areas, and 69 colonies classified as “affluent”. The exclusion also applies to 51 colonies that did not exist before 2019, officials said.
“Delhi’s population has almost doubled from 15 million to 30 million in the last two decades, with unauthorised colonies and slums also growing. Today’s development marks the first significant step towards structured and planned urban development with the aim of integrating these unauthorised colonies into Delhi’s urban fabric,” Gupta said.
Under the new framework, land use across all plots in these colonies will be treated as residential. Existing built-up structures will be regularised in their current form, and the lack of layout plans will no longer act as a barrier.
Officials said that currently, conveyance deeds (CD) are issued for built-up properties on government land and authorisation slips (AS) for properties on private land. PM-UDAY is implemented through an online portal managed by DDA. Till March, approximately 40,000 conveyance deeds or authorisation slips have been issued.
D Thara, additional secretary in the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), said the relatively low response to the scheme was examined. “It has been observed that even after issuance of CD/AS, residents are unable to get building plans approved or regularise existing structures due to the absence of approved layout plans. These layout plans were to be prepared by RWAs and approved by MCD, which is now not needed.”
She said people can now apply on the SWAGAM or PM-UDAY portal, submit a map of the property made by one of the 700 empanelled MCD architects, and get authorisation within 45 days.
Small convenience shops up to 10 square metres will also be eligible for regularisation, subject to access conditions. Shops up to 20 sqm will require a six-metre right of way, while smaller units may be permitted with narrower access.
Municipal authorities will issue certificates of regularisation, undertake surveys of vacant plots, and facilitate civic infrastructure development. The revenue department of the Delhi government will continue to issue conveyance deeds or authorisation slips to eligible residents.
“People can apply as individuals or in clusters, and also floor-wise. MCD will also conduct drone surveys every two months to check what development work is needed and to prevent further unauthorised construction. Apart from making these houses legal entities, they will also get bankability,” Thara said.
The application process will begin on April 24 through MCD’s SWAGAM portal for cases where ownership documents have already been issued. A defined timeline includes a GIS-based survey within seven days, rectification of deficiencies within 15 days, and issuance of documents within 45 days.
“There are several challenges in the implementation of these announcements. Many legal hurdles will come up related to contradiction with previous norms, ownership disputes and master plan related contradictions. It is also fine that the process will be handed over to the Delhi government but even they need to establish a town and country planning department. Delhi is probably the only state that does not have a town and country planning department, due to the lack of which important aspects like infrastructure linkages and transport planning cannot be done and Delhi government just acts as a post office, asking DDA or MCD to intervene,” said AK Jain, former DDA commissioner.
“In terms of revenue through property tax etc the impact is minimal because the revenue is nominal compared to the civic obligations of MCD from parks, water, sewage, drainage to roads. Overall, the announcement should have been thought of more and should be more professional rather than political,” Jain said.
Once regularisation starts, these properties will also have to pay property tax and other charges. In case of any new unauthorised construction, demolition may also be considered. The Centre said the move marks a shift from an ownership-focused framework to a more comprehensive approach integrating both ownership and regularisation.